And while accurate numbers are difficult to come by, Delaney cited estimates that suggest nearly 300,000 children are exploited by sex traffickers every year across the nation.

The New Hampshire Commission to Combat Human Trafficking is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to not only track down and prosecute those behind this heinous practice, but to identify victims and put them in touch with agencies that can help them to cope with years of abuse. The task force consists of law enforcement, victim advocates, social services representatives, medical providers and others with expertise in this field.

As it turns out, it was a

Litchfield-based forced labor case that helped to serve as the impetus behind legislation that led to the creation of this welcomed task force earlier this month.

In 2003, two owners of a Litchfield tree-cutting business were convicted and sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for forcing four Jamaican men to work for them under unsanitary conditions. At the time, the sentence represented only the second jury conviction in the nation under the federal government’s forced-labor laws.

That prompted state Rep. Jordan Ulery, R-Hudson, to file legislation in 2007 that explicitly would have prohibited the trafficking of individuals for sex or labor in New Hampshire. While Ulery’s bill failed to make it out of the House of Representatives that year, the Legislature did create a commission headed by former Rep. Suzanne Harvey, D-Nashua, to study the issue further.

In the fall of 2008, Harvey’s commission released a 44-page report titled “The Hidden Problem of Human Trafficking: Addressing Modern Day Slavery in New Hampshire,” which concluded that “human trafficking or modern day slavery is a problem of epidemic proportions.”

During the next legislative session, Harvey introduced legislation that made human trafficking for sex or forced labor a Class A felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison under certain circumstances. When Gov. John Lynch signed Harvey’s bill into law, New Hampshire became one of the first states to make human trafficking a crime.

Still, that wasn’t enough to prevent New Hampshire from being one of 17 states to receive an “F” grade from Shared Hope International and the American Center for Law and Justice, two nonprofit groups that examined state laws governing sex trafficking of minors.

Looking ahead, it is our sincere hope that the work of Delaney’s new commission will result in the successful prosecution of individuals engaged in these abominable acts and the counseling and rehabilitation of their victims.

If it does, we will take some satisfaction in knowing local lawmakers played a key role in laying the groundwork for its success.